Background

Multiple sclerosis (MS), the most common cause of non-traumatic disability in adults, is a chronic, complex neurological disease with a variable clinical course and several pathophysiological mechanisms. Whole-body cryotherapy (WBC ), due to its analgesic effects, is an increasingly popular form of rehabilitation for neurological patients, especially for those with MS.

Objectives

The following study attempted to evaluate the effect of 30 daily whole-body cryotherapy treatments (3 minutes at -130°C) on basic blood biochemical parameters and main antioxidant enzyme activity in the erythrocytes of MS patients.

Material and methods

Total protein, albumin, glucose and uric acid levels and lipid profile indicators: total cholesterol (TCh), HDL cholesterol and triacylglycerol (TAG) concentrations, were determined with the enzymatic colorimetric method. The activity of erythrocyte antioxidant enzymes: SO D1/CuZn-SO D (superoxide dismutase), CAT (catalase), GPx (glutathione peroxidase), R-GSS G (glutathione reductase), GST (glutathione transferase), was assessed using kinetic methods before and after 30 daily WBC treatment in 30 patients.

Results

Following a series of 30 WBC treatments, no significant changes in total protein, albumin, uric acid and glucose concentrations, total cholesterol and HDL- and LDL-fraction cholesterol levels and triacylglycerol concentration, as well as a significant increase in SO D1 activity coupled with a trend for increased GST activity, were observed in the group of patients.

Conclusions

The results confirm the possibility of modulating the effect of this form of rehabilitation on the systemic antioxidant potential in multiple sclerosis patients.